The women go to the tomb early in the morning—just after sunrise, the text says—and, while en route, wonder who will roll the stone away that they saw the soldiers put in place as a “door” to the tomb where Jesus was buried.
While we know that the stone was a physical barrier, the separation between life and death in the dark tomb, the stone is also an image for
us: those things in us and in our lives that stop us from entering into the resurrected life that Jesus invites us to.
What does it mean to live a “resurrected life”? It means that despite our own fragilities, despite our sin, despite our struggles, God can and does break through and offer us another way. Perhaps we make the mistake of thinking this has to be in some big spectacular way - it is not!
Living the life of resurrection means
that we can step out of our hardness of heart into being compassionate - the stone of hardness moves. It means that we can move from unforgiveness to forgiveness - the stone of unforgiveness shifts. It means that we can move from selfishness to generosity - the stone of selfishness shifts. It means that we can move from being uncaring and unloving to being caring and loving - the stone of unloving and uncaring rolls away! Living a resurrected life means that any “stones” that stop us from being
the people God desires us to become can be rolled away.
In these Easter days, what stone might be rolling away in your life? How is God inviting you to move from whatever keeps you in the darkness of the tomb into the bright morning light of resurrection?
Reflections by Russell Pollitt SJ
